The Ocean
by Charlotte88
Summary: A visit to the beach drags up some bad memories for Nikki...


The Ocean

Harry walked over to Leo, who was stepping out of his white forensic suit. They were on a remote beach in Norfolk, where a body had been found that was a link to a case they'd been working on back in London. However, it was late autumn and wasn't the best weather for a trip to the seaside. The skies were grey and every now then light showers would spatter the pathologists' faces.

"Aren't you changed yet?" Harry called over the noise of his surroundings.

"Almost. What's wrong with Nikki?" Leo asked. Harry looked to his left, where Nikki was stood by the shoreline, gazing out over the sea, her arms folded across her chest.

"I don't know," Harry frowned. "I'll tell you what, I'll talk to her and meet you at the mortuary."

"Are you sure?" the older man asked.

"Yeah, you go ahead."

"Okay," Leo smiled. "You know where it is?"

Harry shook the map he had and Leo grinned before walking off, his feet sinking in the sand. Harry trod his way over to Nikki. She didn't turn as she heard him approach, but now that Harry could see her close-up, he realised that she didn't look too good. The wind was whipping her blonde hair around her pale face, and she was shaking.

"Nikki?" he probed tentatively when he reached her elbow.

"I remember when I first saw the sea," she muttered. Harry had to strain his ears to hear her over the sound of the breaking waves and the wind. "I was five years old. We lived quite far from the coast in Africa, so one day my parents decided to take a day trip there. It fascinated me. The power of the waves, the sheer vastness of the dark water... It always seemed limitless to me, like it just stretched on for eternity. But life's not like that, is it?"

Harry didn't really know whether he was supposed to answer this. "Err... no, I suppose not." Nikki didn't even appear to hear him though, because she continued regardless.

"You know, it's the anniversary of my mother's death today," she told him.

"Oh Nikki, I'm sorry."

"I was stood on a beach with my uncle when it happened. I remember he had one of those really old-fashioned brick-shaped mobile phones and I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw the tears in his eyes. He was such a strong man, he never cried... They wouldn't let me see the body, you know. My uncle and I had to stay in a hotel overnight until it had all been sorted back home. But I snuck out and ran back to the beach."

Nikki paused, and Harry could see tears rolling down her cheeks, mixing with the rain that had once again began to fall. She'd never spoken to him about this before, and as much as Harry wanted to comfort her, he just didn't know what to do.

"It was stormy, when I reached the beach," she continued. "The waves were crashing down with such power, the rain was stinging my cheeks, and the noise of the howling wind was horrendous. It wasn't the sunny gentleness that I'd experienced earlier in the day, and it scared me. I ran and hid in some long grass. I remember I just curled up with my jumper over my head. I must have dropped off for a while though, because when I woke up everything was quiet and still. All except for the waves, which I could hear gently breaking on the sand. It must have been the early hours of the morning, because the sun was just rising on the horizon. It was the sort of perfectness that only ever happens after a storm, do you know what I mean?"

Harry nodded, listening intently. The rain was hammering down now, but he ignored it.

"The sight was so beautiful. The sky was completely pink and this huge orange sun was rising over the dark water, which was glistening with the shine and beauty that only crystals have. I'd never, and _have_ never to this day, seen anything so magnificent. I like to think it was my mother's way of saying goodbye."

She fell silent and it wasn't until Harry was confident that she'd finished that he attempted to speak.

"You're shivering," he said meekly, watching Nikki's body shake violently.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. Harry shrugged off his jacket and draped it around Nikki's shoulders before pulling her into him.

"No you're not. Of course you're not," he sighed. Nikki fell apart at this and started sobbing into his chest. Harry lay his cheek on her wet hair and held her tight.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed when she pulled back. "I shouldn't have offloaded all that on you."

"Don't be stupid," Harry told her. "You know I'll always be here for you."

Nikki smiled at him and Harry held her gaze for a moment, but the rain started to seep through his many layers and onto his skin.

"Come on," he said, putting an arm around Nikki's shoulders. "Let's get you into the warmth of my car."

Together the pair of them walked back up the beach, slipping slightly on the wet pebbles, but not caring one little bit.

* * *

**Bit of a random one-shot. The prompt was 'the ocean', and this was all I could think of. It's very angsty and depressing, reading back over it now. Oh well, makes a change from the usual fluff that I write! Review and tell me what you think. **


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